| NEWWORLDORDER | Post-Cold War hierarchy ... and what is literally contained in the circled squares |
| TOSSEDSALAD | Common first course ... or what's literally contained in 17-, 23-, 32-, 44- and 49-Across? |
| FOODCHAIN | Ecological hierarchy, and a structure found in this puzzle |
| ELITIST | Person who really buys into social hierarchy and their lofty place in it |
| CIS | Post- Cold War inits. |
| CENTRALSQUARE | Cambridge, Massachusetts, neighborhood directly in between the campuses of MIT and Harvard, and what is literally in the other theme answers |
| GEOCACHING | Hide-and-seek activity utilizing GPS ... and what is literally done in the answers to starred clues |
| FOOTBRIDGE | Stream crossing for pedestrians ... and what is literally provided by the interior letters in the answers to starred clues |
| WESTCOUNTRY | Region associated with scrumpy, and what is literally in the answers to asterisked clues (11) |
| MIXEDBREED | Pet without papers ... or what is literally found in the circled letters |
| LIPPSINC | Tar Heel St. city named for a part of the mouth with a trident-shaped Greek letter written on it? ... or, when parsed differently, the band with the No. 1 hit spelled out in the circled squares |
| CROSSREFERENCES | "See also" notations ... or what can be found in the circled squares in this puzzle? |
| FITZGERALD | Vocalist known for the 1944 song whose title (and first line) appears in the circled squares |
| TOOTHBRUSH | It helps clean the word in the circled squares (as well as the alternate version) |
| TINYT | Speaker of the words in the circled squares, expressed literally |
| IDIOM | Figure of speech ... and a synonym of the puzzle's alternate title, spelled le to right in the circled squares |
| UPSANDDOWNS | Vicissitudes of life, as for the inventor named in the circled squares? |
| NONKOSHER | Like the four things named in the circled squares |
| PANTSONFIRE | Supposed sign of lying ... or a hint to the answers in the circled squares |
| BLADE | Green part of a field, or what cuts it (as also shown in the circled squares) |
